NeverTrump's Victims: NeverTrump (Former) Republican Congressmen

NeverTrump turns out to be remarkably good at knifing Republican politicians who don't like Trump. Which is only ironic if you think hardcore NeverTrumpers have the best interests of the GOP at heart. https://t.co/vmbOGYy2Qc

Ben Domenech writes that Republicans proved they can win in purple states, whereas Democrats... did not.

The Blue Wave that had been so highly anticipated last night never materialized. A wave election, however you define it, does more than elect 30-35 House members and flip at this juncture just one Senate seat. A wave election is a combo punch of wins all over the place, including in places that push the margins of where you thought a party could win. We saw a true wave election in 2010 for Republicans. There was no such repudiation offered by Resistance Democrats in 2018.

Yes, Democrats took the House, as anticipated -- the combination of retirements and the backlash of suburban voters overwhelmed a GOP where many of its members had become lackadaisical in their approach to doing the work required to win elections. But when your most significant statewide victories for Democrats are defeating Scott Walker and Dean Heller, it's a far cry from how things looked pre-Kavanaugh.

So today we wake up to a Republican Party that is decidedly more Trumpian, having seen the elimination of its most moderate and Trump-critical members, and the support of those who embraced Trump emphatically on the campaign trail and in policy preferences. The only candidate to win statewide who could be fairly described as a Trump critic is Mitt Romney, and even he will arrive in Washington to play the balancing game in a period of investigations and confirmations.

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Last night, Van Jones spoke for many progressives in his sorrow: "This is heartbreaking," he said.

Leftover: Trump just called a combative black female reporter a racist.